# Can Democrats actually stop the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 4, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733 "2018-09-04T12:49:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/261 "2018-09-05T21:16:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It’s an intellectual exercise, perhaps, but you and I don’t share agreement on basic principles of morality, so I don’t agree it’s a moral exercise. We (us two) don’t need to share basic moral principles for this site to be about intellect and morality, which was what I said. We can disagree about it. That’s the content of the site. It’s kind of limited to those two things, because it’s verbal reasoned argument. My point is these threads are for intellectual, and moral opinions, and if you post with triumphalism about using brute force to gain political advantage, you are cheating yourself out of what we are really here for, and not gaining anything. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/262 "2018-09-05T21:20:12Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > The “it” in “the Senate did it” in this case refers to _NOT_ holding a vote, so no, they wouldn’t have a vote. But I think the point you’ve made (that, with apologies if I misstate it here in my attempted summary, it’s harder to cast a vote that bucks the party leadership in an unusual parliamentary maneuver than it might be if Garland had been brought up for a regular up-or-down vote) is accurate, I just think it unlikely that that difference would have been enough to get him confirmed. Like John Mace and YamatoTwinkie stated earlier, there’s no way to no for certain. There was a way to know for certain, but McConnell chose not to use that way. The only thing that I can take from that is that he didn’t know for certain, either. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/263 "2018-09-05T21:25:51Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > There was a way to know for certain, but McConnell chose not to use that way. The only thing that I can take from that is that he didn’t know for certain, either. That’s one possibility. Another possibility is that he knew for certain but did not want to put that political toll on the vulnerable members of his caucus. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/264 "2018-09-05T21:50:25Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That’s one possibility. Another possibility is that he knew for certain but did not want to put that political toll on the vulnerable members of his caucus. You mean, make them do their jobs in representing the wishes of their constituencies? You know, if they don’t want the hard job of voting on things and taking the political toll for doing so, they don’t have to have these extremely privileged positions of power. To any senator that finds voting on things to be too much of a political toll: I’m hiring. Come wash some dogs, and let someone who actually wants to represent the people who voted for them take the senate seat. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/265 "2018-09-05T22:03:23Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I skipped ahead, and I have only watched the hearings off and on as I have had time, but I think Kavanaugh is doing wonderfully. Of course he is. He’s clever, personable, well-spoken, and charismatic. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/266 "2018-09-05T22:09:23Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Of course he is. He’s clever, personable, well-spoken, and charismatic. He’s the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful . . . hey, wait a minute. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/267 "2018-09-05T22:12:14Z")
I don’t think he’s anywhere near as well spoken as John Roberts or Sonia Sotomayor. But those two set a pretty high bar. Still, he’s stumbling a lot more than I would expect someone like him to do. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/268 "2018-09-06T00:17:59Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > We (us two) don’t need to share basic moral principles for this site to be about intellect and morality, which was what I said. We can disagree about it. That’s the content of the site. It’s kind of limited to those two things, because it’s verbal reasoned argument. > > My point is these threads are for intellectual, and moral opinions, and if you post with triumphalism about using brute force to gain political advantage, you are cheating yourself out of what we are really here for, and not gaining anything. So this site, in your mind (a site that just happens to be festooned with liberals) is for discussing the morality of actions . . . which morality is informed by liberal thought. And by not sharing in this self-congratulatory exercise in mutual self-gratification, I am cheating myself? BWAHAHAHAHA!! Um…yeah, ok then. I guess I am cheated by my own hand. Woe is me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/269 "2018-09-06T00:30:48Z")
If your hand is unfaithful, I think you have to cut it off. That’s Scripture. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/270 "2018-09-06T00:44:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So this site, in your mind (a site that just happens to be festooned with liberals) is for discussing the morality of actions . . . which morality is informed by liberal thought. And by not sharing in this self-congratulatory exercise in mutual self-gratification, I am cheating myself? > > BWAHAHAHAHA!! > > Um…yeah, ok then. I guess I am cheated by my own hand. Woe is me. Actually my only point was that talking about values and information is what this is right here, by definition, and only that. If you go for triumphalism you are cheating yourself, because you have squandered any credibility, as an adult, to make value judgements that need a brain. If you can’t argue moral issues because it’s too liberal on this site why are you here? Oh right…You are doing just that all the time anyway, notwithstanding. This does kind of read like what cheating oneself must resemble. You can give a morality of conservative thought. I’d participate in such thread. Don’t cheat yourself. How are we going to learn anything? I think you should stop complaining about the room and get down to work with an argument against the liberals here. A good argument. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/271 "2018-09-06T00:55:23Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So this site, in your mind (a site that just happens to be festooned with liberals) is for discussing the morality of actions . . . which morality is informed by liberal thought. And by not sharing in this self-congratulatory exercise in mutual self-gratification, I am cheating myself? > > BWAHAHAHAHA!! > > Um…yeah, ok then. I guess I am cheated by my own hand. Woe is me. You think we are enemies here by being liberal. I think there will be a time very soon when it will be clear that mitch mcconnell was the worst thing that ever happened to the repubs, cons and the right wing. The things he is dispensing, like a court seat, will seem very small then. (Maybe smaller after a kavanaugh impeachment deriving from withheld papers, cross my fingers) The bad faith won’t age well. It seems Rs can think one step ahead. Congratulations! It’s a long path though. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/272 "2018-09-06T02:43:07Z")
Kamala Harris seemed to be going somewhere [with a line of questioning](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/what-was-up-with-kamala-harris-mystery-mueller-question-for-kavanaugh) and seems to be implying that she has evidence that Kavanaugh has had some contact with Trump’s personal lawyer recently. [The video](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1037531080402919424)is worth watching, as she looks very confident and he looks absolutely terrified. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/273 "2018-09-06T02:47:29Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > You think we are enemies here by being liberal. I think there will be a time very soon when it will be clear that mitch mcconnell was the worst thing that ever happened to the repubs, cons and the right wing. The things he is dispensing, like a court seat, will seem very small then. (Maybe smaller after a kavanaugh impeachment deriving from withheld papers, cross my fingers) The bad faith won’t age well. > > It seems Rs can think one step ahead. Congratulations! It’s a long path though. Care to add any specifics to this warning of impending doom? Or just leave it at “there will be a time very soon when it will be clear”? Is that going to be before the midterms? Before the 2020 election? Sometime after? And for the record, I don’t think of the average run-of-the-mill liberal as an “enemy”. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/274 "2018-09-06T02:57:45Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Kamala Harris seemed to be going somewhere [with a line of questioning](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/what-was-up-with-kamala-harris-mystery-mueller-question-for-kavanaugh) and seems to be implying that she has evidence that Kavanaugh has had some contact with Trump’s personal lawyer recently. [The video](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1037531080402919424)is worth watching, as she looks very confident and he looks absolutely terrified. Did she ever present any evidence after all that implying? Or get to any point at all about it? The video ends with her saying she’ll move on. My thought after watching it is “That was weird. Did she have a point?” ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/275 "2018-09-06T03:22:14Z")
She’s a pretty seasoned prosecutor. I trust there will be more coming. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/276 "2018-09-06T03:28:54Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > She’s a pretty seasoned prosecutor. I trust there will be more coming. Do you think we should expect it during these hearings? Before the committee votes? Before the Senate votes? Sometime down the road if some fantasy about impeaching Kavanaugh materialize? I guess my point is that you said she “seemed to be going somewhere” with that line of questioning, but then she never actually did go anywhere with it. Maybe you’re right though, maybe something will come out as an ‘October surprise’ for Kavanaugh or something. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/277 "2018-09-06T06:40:37Z")
In thinking about this more, Kamala Harris’ questioning feels more like [that time Harry Reid lied about Mitt Romney’s taxes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/15/harry-reid-lied-about-mitt-romneys-taxes-hes-still-not-sorry/?utm_term=.1454544eda4b). Maybe she’ll prove me wrong and release a bombshell piece of evidence at some point, but I’m inclined to wait until she’s actually produced something substantive. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/278 "2018-09-06T13:28:28Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In thinking about this more, Kamala Harris’ questioning feels more like [that time Harry Reid lied about Mitt Romney’s taxes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/15/harry-reid-lied-about-mitt-romneys-taxes-hes-still-not-sorry/?utm_term=.1454544eda4b). Maybe she’ll prove me wrong and release a bombshell piece of evidence at some point, but I’m inclined to wait until she’s actually produced something substantive. I guess we shall see, but you have to acknowledge that she seemed to have [some information](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisgeidner/kamala-harris-and-brett-kavanaugh-had-a-very-weird-exchange)that she was quite confident, and he seemed very much like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Except considerably more scared. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/279 "2018-09-06T13:42:36Z")
Also,[Senator Leahy](https://twitter.com/SenatorLeahy/status/1037415316375134210)is making some serious accusations at Kavanaugh being involved in obtaining hacked information and using it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/280 "2018-09-06T13:48:33Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Kamala Harris seemed to be going somewhere [with a line of questioning](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/what-was-up-with-kamala-harris-mystery-mueller-question-for-kavanaugh) and seems to be implying that she has evidence that Kavanaugh has had some contact with Trump’s personal lawyer recently. [The video](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1037531080402919424)is worth watching, as she looks very confident and he looks absolutely terrified. He did not comport himself well during that line of questioning. But I think it was mistake for her to accuse him as she did at the end. I wonder if she actually some info on him or if she is just bluffing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=15)